14 Wing Greenwood will mark the 84th anniversary of the Battle of Britain with several events Sunday, September 15.
At 10 a.m., a service will be held at St. Mark’s Chapel, Church Street, Greenwood. Members of the military, retired members, and the public are welcome. Military dress is Ceremonial 1A with medals.
A formal, 14 Wing Greenwood-hosted indoor ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m., at the Annapolis Mess. This is open to the community. Guests are welcome, and should be seated by 1:15 p.m. Military dress is Ceremonial 1A with medals; all others, please wear appropriate civilian attire.
In Halifax, 12 Wing Shearwater and 14 Wing Greenwood will share in a public service with The Honorable Arthur J. LeBlanc, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, as the reviewing officer. The Royal Canadian Air Forces Association and Royal Canadian Air Cadets will also be present.
The summer of 1940 was a dark time for the Allied Forces. A large portion of continental Europe had fallen to the Nazis, and Hitler was preparing to launch a full-scale invasion of Great Britain. First, he needed to dominate the airspace over the English Channel. His Luftwaffe (air force) needed to destroy the Royal Air Force.
The Battle of Britain was the first major battle fought almost entirely between opposing air forces. Waged from July to October 1940, it pitted a small group of Allied fighter pilots against the far larger German Luftwaffe. More than 100 Canadians participated in the Battle of Britain, most flying with the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, and 23 lost their lives.
August 20, 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered his famous speech, praising the airmen fighting the battle: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Overseas, the RCAF formed five new day-fighter squadrons in 1941. Battle of Britain veterans provided experience and knowledge to more than half of the new RCAF fighter squadrons up to the end of 1942.
